Gamified

Samuel j Steffanina

Gamified is a panel show (Twitter Space) where experts discuss interesting and topical Web3 Gaming subjects in a lighthearted gameshow format with a unique blend of humor and industry knowledge.

  1. 3 days ago

    Forza Leaked and Broke Every Record | Sony Kills PC Ports | $38B Saudi Gaming Bet | Gamified #161

    THIS WEEK ON GAMIFIED: Forza Horizon 6 leaked before launch - then broke every franchise record. 172K concurrent on early access alone. 302K by end of week. Nearly 4x FH5's all-time peak. Sony held a staff town hall: single-player first-party games are PS5 exclusive going forward. No more Steam ports. A direct reversal of a six-year trend. Nintendo stock jumped 6.8% in three days. The reason? Investors rotating out of AI stocks into companies that aren't burning money on it. Saudi Arabia deployed $38 billion into gaming through Savvy Gaming Group. The acquisition phase is done. Now what? Amazon cancelled its Lord of the Rings MMO for the second time. Six days later, Warhorse Studios announced an open-world Middle-earth RPG. Xbox hired Matthew Ball as Chief Strategy Officer. The most analytics-driven hire the console space has ever made. But can strategy decks fix Xbox? Also... sorry for no episode last week - I got married! CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Intro 2:42 - Forza Horizon 6: Did the Leak Actually Help? | Buy or Sell 16:26 - Saudi Arabia Spent $38B on Gaming | Sentiment Score 34:08 - LOTR Goes to Warhorse | What's the Word 49:53 - Can Matthew Ball Save Xbox? | What Are the Odds 1:04:27 - Sony Goes Full PS5 Exclusive, Kills PC Ports | Buy or Sell Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VswZ5WNNJKo PANEL: Kate Irwin (Veda) - https://x.com/kateirwin Payton Kaleiwahea (Wolves Co / Kizuna) - https://x.com/paytkaleiwahea Michael Christine (Andrometa) - https://x.com/MichaelSatoshi Kohji Nagata (Parallel) - https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod Gnoc (Digital Collectors Club) - https://x.com/itsGnoc Omar Ghanem (Games.gg) https://x.com/yoitsOG Host: Sam Steffanina - https://x.com/SamSteffanina

    1hr 38min
  2. 8 May

    Why Epic Can't Fix Fortnite | GameStop's Bid for eBay | Gamified Debate #159

    1. Ryan Cohen's GameStop makes an unsolicited $55.5B bid for eBay. Is this a legitimate M&A play or a $9.4B cash pile under pressure? The panel assigns odds from 2% to 50%+. 2. Gaming VC hit $627M in H1 2025 — down from $12.5B at the 2021 peak. The panel argues the bullish case and identifies which categories can still generate returns 3. Microsoft is reportedly exploring a free, ad-supported Xbox Game Pass tier. 4. Star Wars dropped a UEFN-focused Fortnite activation with flat concurrency. 5. Who would you hire for a Head of Product: 20-year Riot/Blizzard vet or 24-year-old Roblox builder with 250 million lifetime players? Subscribe to the Gamified newsletter: https://gamified.beehiiv.com/ Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8XapwgE7xw 0:00 - Intro 2:50 - GameStop Bids $55.5B for eBay | What Are the Odds 22:45 - Gaming VC Is Dead. Or Is It? | Devil's Advocate 46:58 - Free Xbox Game Pass — Right Move? | Red Flag or Green Flag 1:03:56 - Star Wars in Fortnite — Buy or Sell? | Buy or Sell 1:26:05 - AAA Vet vs. Roblox Builder | Would You Rather --- *This week's panel:* Sam Steffanina — Remix.gg / Gamified Events / samsteffanina kohji Nagata — Parallel https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod Gnoc — Digital Collectors Club / Ex-Magic Eden https://x.com/itsGnoc Chris Heatherly — Ex-Disney / Ex-NBCUniversal / chrisheatherly Colan Neese — Screen Engine / mindGAME Data linkedin.com/in/colanneese Joe Ferencz — Gamefam Founder / joeferencz Wills Spangler — GameCred / wills-spangler

    1hr 44min
  3. 1 May

    Replace 30% of a Game Studio With AI? | Gamified Debate #158

    If you were running a studio, would you automate over or under 30% of it with AI? After comments suggesting many studios are already using AI tools but are afraid to admit it publicly, the conversation turns into a fight over what AI should actually replace, whether studios are quietly cutting humans out faster than they admit, and what happens when the industry starts trading headcount for tooling. The episode also breaks down the shutdown of Wildcard / Thousands and what another major web3 gaming collapse says about overfunding, overbuilding, and trying to force an ecosystem before the game itself sticks. From there, the crew gets into the resurfaced Peter Berg quotes calling war video games “pathetic” and whether that makes him a red flag or green flag choice to direct the upcoming Call of Duty movie, plus Sony’s reported 30-day PS5 digital license check and what it says about digital ownership. Chapters 2:06 - Wildcard Shutdown | Autopsy 28:14 - Game Studio = 30% AI | Over / Under? 1:00:42 - Peter Berg CoD Movie | Red or Green Flag? 1:19:02 - PS5 License Checks | What’s the Word? Watch instead of listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxgjOUdFm90 Host: Sam Steffanina - Remix.gg Panelists Kohji Nagata - Parallel https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod Chris Heatherley - Griffin Gaming Partners (Ex-Disney, Ex-NBC Universal) https://x.com/chrisheatherly Matt "Gnoc" Biamonte - Digital Collectors Club (Ex-Magic Eden, Soar Esports) https://x.com/itsGnoc Michael Christine - Andrometa (Ex-SEC Lawyer) https://x.com/MichaelSatoshi Tony Valcarcel - Makko.ai (Ex-Twitch) https://x.com/Tvalc Jerry Singer - (Ex-Upptic) https://x.com/JerrySinger

    1hr 29min
  4. 16 Apr

    Gamified #156 | SteamGPT | Disney’s Extraction Shooter

    The strange rollout of Borderlands Mobile, reports that Disney and Epic want to launch their gaming universe with an extraction shooter, the allegations surrounding Gunzilla Games + Ashes of Creation, and why Roblox games are getting movie deals. 2:51 - Steam’s AI Leak | What’s the Word? 19:26 - Borderlands Surprise Launch | Red or Green Flag? 30:22 - Disney Extraction Shooter | Sentiment Score 58:51 - Ashes vs Gunzilla | Bigger Deal? 1:13:39 - Roblox UGC Movie | What’s the Word? Subscribe to the Gamified newsletter: https://gamified.beehiiv.com/ Watch instead of Listen on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D51MM7jFAA Host - Sam Steffanina https://x.com/SamSteffanina Panelists: Kohji Nagata - Parallel https://x.com/ParallelTCGpod Chris Heatherley - Griffin Gaming Partners (Ex-Disney, Ex-NBC Universal) https://x.com/chrisheatherly Kate Irwin - Veda (Ex-Blockworks Ex-PCMag https://x.com/kateirwin Michael Christine - Andrometa (Ex-SEC Lawyer) https://x.com/MichaelSatoshi Matt "Gnoc" Biamonte - Digital Collectors Club (Ex-Magic Eden, Soar Esports) https://x.com/itsGnoc Colan Neese - Screen Engine & mindGAME Data LinkedIn / colanneese Info on the Gunzilla and Ashes of Creation topic: https://navarti.in.ua/1048774-vlad-korolev-alexander-zoll-and-gunzilla-games-russian-mafia-assets-laundered.html https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/failed-mmo-devs-reportedly-used-3-2m-kickstarter-funds-on-trading-cards-more-3350692/

    1hr 29min

About

Gamified is a panel show (Twitter Space) where experts discuss interesting and topical Web3 Gaming subjects in a lighthearted gameshow format with a unique blend of humor and industry knowledge.